You may not think of Wikipedia as being useful in link building since it NoFollows all its external
links. It is not a wise idea to simply go onto the site and create a page for your company. Unless
your company is well known, it is likely to be promptly removed. However, links from
Wikipedia can be valuable because many people treat it like an authoritative site, and if they
see your link on Wikipedia they may choose to link to you. This can include some pretty
influential people.
Social Media Tips
• Build up your credibility (long and virtuous contribution history, user profile page with
Barnstar awards) before doing anything that could be construed as self-serving. It is not
good enough to be altruistic on Wikipedia unless you demonstrateit. It has to be visible as
a track record (e.g., do squash spam and fix typos and add valuable content, but do not
do it anonymously).
• Negotiate with an article’s “owner” (the main editor who polices the article) before making
an edit to an article to get her blessing first.
• Use Wikipedia’s “Watch” function to monitor your articles of interest. Better yet, use a
tool that emails you (e.g., TrackEngine, URLyWarning, or ChangeDetect).
• The flow of PageRank can be directed internally within Wikipedia with Disambiguation
Pages, Redirects, and Categories.
• Make friends. They will be invaluable in times of trouble, such as if an article you care
about gets an “Article for Deletion” nomination.
• Do not edit anonymously from the office. This could come back to haunt you. Tools exist
that could embarrass you if you do so. One public domain tool, WikiScanner, is able to
programmatically take anonymous Wikipedia posts and identify the organization that
created them. The tool cross-references the IP address to make the edits with the blocks
of IP addresses of more than 180,000 organizations. Do not take the risk.
Wikis.
Flickr
As of early 2009, Flickr is the most popular photo-sharing site on the Web. It can be an effective
tool in gathering traffic and exposure for your website. Lots of people search on Flickr, and
images in Flickr can rank prominently in web search results. If people find your images on
Flickr, it can cause them to click through to visit your site. As with other social media properties,
this traffic can lead to links to your main site, but it is an indirect approach. Here are some key
tips:
• Always use tags—as many as possible while still being accurate. Surround multiple-word
tags with quotation marks.
• Make descriptive titles for your photos.
• Create thematic sets for your photos.
tool in gathering traffic and exposure for your website. Lots of people search on Flickr, and
images in Flickr can rank prominently in web search results. If people find your images on
Flickr, it can cause them to click through to visit your site. As with other social media properties,
this traffic can lead to links to your main site, but it is an indirect approach. Here are some key
tips:
• Always use tags—as many as possible while still being accurate. Surround multiple-word
tags with quotation marks.
• Make descriptive titles for your photos.
• Create thematic sets for your photos.
Twitter has established itself as the leading microblogging site. It allows its members to
contribute microblog posts that are limited to 140 characters. It has become
an environment for real-time communication with a broader network of people. You can use
Twitter as an effective platform for promoting your business. It is just another channel for
communicating with your customers and market.
The basic concept is to become an active member of the community and build a large network
of followers. As with other networking sites, many important influencers spend time on
Twitter. If you can use Twitter to develop relationships with these people, that can provide
some very high-quality links.
contribute microblog posts that are limited to 140 characters. It has become
an environment for real-time communication with a broader network of people. You can use
Twitter as an effective platform for promoting your business. It is just another channel for
communicating with your customers and market.
The basic concept is to become an active member of the community and build a large network
of followers. As with other networking sites, many important influencers spend time on
Twitter. If you can use Twitter to develop relationships with these people, that can provide
some very high-quality links.
The current environment is much more complex. The people you are trying to reach use many
venues, and all of the various social media properties are part of that picture. Whenever you
have a social media property that a large number of people use, there is an opportunity to reach
them. Success in reaching them depends on becoming a trusted member of that community.
Since there are many large communities, it can be complex and expensive to establish a
presence in all of them. But presence in each one does add to the number of opportunities you
have for creating impressions in your target audience. Since major influencers in your market
may be using these communities, you have an opportunity to reach them as well.
venues, and all of the various social media properties are part of that picture. Whenever you
have a social media property that a large number of people use, there is an opportunity to reach
them. Success in reaching them depends on becoming a trusted member of that community.
Since there are many large communities, it can be complex and expensive to establish a
presence in all of them. But presence in each one does add to the number of opportunities you
have for creating impressions in your target audience. Since major influencers in your market
may be using these communities, you have an opportunity to reach them as well.
including images,
videos, news, travel, and people. Such engines exist to provide value to their user base in ways
that go beyond what traditional web search engines provide.
One area where vertical search engines can excel in comparison to their more general web
search counterparts is in providing more relevant results in their specific category.
videos, news, travel, and people. Such engines exist to provide value to their user base in ways
that go beyond what traditional web search engines provide.
One area where vertical search engines can excel in comparison to their more general web
search counterparts is in providing more relevant results in their specific category.